


Diamonds Can Break, Too

by sexywiddlebaby



Category: The Derp Crew
Genre: Bad Ending, Emotional, M/M, Marriage, Minor Swearing, One Shot, Reflection, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-14 02:58:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7150205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sexywiddlebaby/pseuds/sexywiddlebaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Do you, Thomas O'Grady, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"<br/>"I do."</p>
<p>[013]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Diamonds Can Break, Too

**Author's Note:**

> 1) The lack of ZeRoyalFawkes everywhere hurts my soul.  
> 2) I wanted to experiment with sad stuff. So here we are.
> 
> Title/fic inspiration from a magazine I was reading, of all places.  
> Thank you for your interest. I'd appreciate some feedback as a comment or a PM if you have the time :)

Steven rubs his eyes for the seventeenth time, sniffling, his mouth hanging open with no sound coming out. The desperate pockets of air seemingly lodged in his throat makes it sore, which complements the pain hurdling over each beat his heart performs. His matress, already suffocating under his weight, absorbs the drops of regret streaming down from Steven's flaming cheeks. As he shuffles his body to lay on his back, he rubs his empty third finger, wanting the comforting ring to return there.

In all the romantic movies he'd seen, people always struggled moving on. Steven thought it was a bit overdramatic, how the premise of an entire movie could be a sour break-up, and yet, here he was, exfoliating his skin with his tears. And it sucks. The flow of time distorts and permeates through the blades of air cutting into his lungs. If only everything could go back to how it was...

* * *

"Do you, Thomas O'Grady, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Steven's face was crafted into a reassuring smile. The heat emanating from his red round nose was tangible in the heavy atmosphere of the church. Tom's pupils dilated in comfort as he noticed Steven's grip tighten a little. Steven cocked his head to the side, raising his eyebrows in concern.

"You'd better not stand me up now, Tom," Steven said, playfully swinging his arms with Tom's in a comedic song-and-dance.  
A few chuckles spread through the audience before they faded back into a respectful level of silence. Feeling the judgement of several eyes upon him, Tom cleared his throat.

It hadn't been hard to ask Steven out. It was pretty much given that they would end up together, even if they'd only been in close contact for barely two months. Chilled was pretty jealous at the affair, but nonetheless threw his arms around them, before shoving them into the alcoholic afterparty he'd arranged. What a night that was. And of course, the news of engagement was celebrated too.

"I do."

Steven rolled his eyes. _Tsk._ He'd probably left Steven hanging a bit long on that answer.

"And do you, Steven-uh..."

Everyone ignored the butchering of Steven's name by the vicar, and Steven immediately agreed. The seconds that followed was the first of many kisses laden with sparks of hysteria and all-consuming love. Not wanting to spite any of their friends, Jess held the cushion for the ring. Tom and Steven didn't really fancy an argument over the two Anthonies and John about who could deliver the ring, and considering its expensive nature, they didn't have the faintest of trust in them either.

Tom nodded to Jess as he swept the gold adorned-ring from the plush cushion. He admired it one more time in the rays of light flooding in from the stained glass windows behind the altar. The ring itself was a rigid structure, not entirely circular, but more rectangular in shape, and was made from fine gold. Engraved into one side of the ring were both of their names with a single heart in between. But the most impressive facet of the ring had to be the colourless diamond elegantly resting on top. It wasn't a perfect diamond; there were edges that hadn't been cut exactly, and you could see cloudiness inside of it. Nevertheless, Tom snapped it up weeks before the engagement even was confirmed. It was perfect for him, and he was certain it would be in Steven's taste too.

Tom steadied Steven's outstretched hand, spreading his fingers apart. He slipped the ring carefully onto Steven's finger, feeling the minor resistance as he pushed that indicated a good fit. Steven was gawping at the ring, rotating his hand to watch the light glitter off it.

"I love this almost as much as I love you," Tom said.  
He was met with a wave of _aww_ and _ahhh_ from his family. The clapping and chanting kicked in as their lips touched for a second time.

* * *

Eight months is all it took for things to become pear-shaped. Arguments brewed out of nowhere, they touched less, and then they talked less and shouted even more. Their joint apartment was a volatile place to be, and it wasn't before long that one of them had to break.

"Steven! Where are my socks? They're not in the drawer!" Tom shouted from his room. He continued to dive his hands into the clutter of boxer shorts and belts, exploring every inch of the shelf in vain. Hearing no response, he growled hoarsely, the lining of his throat irritated from their earlier dispute over breakfast. A door slammed shut just out of earshot.

Tom muttered curses in his gruff voice, practically stamping his way back to the open-plan kitchen and lounge area.

"Steven!" Tom called out again.

Unnerved by the second silence, he went over to inspect a new piece of paper taped to the marble-top counter surrounding the fridge. It appeared to be a hastily scrawled message, written in a cheap biro pen and absent of care or rational thought.

> _Tom,  
>  I'm finished. You can have your fucking ring back, too._
> 
> _Don't try to find me.  
>  We're done, and I never want to see you or hear from you again._
> 
> _Goodbye._

Sure enough, there was the ring, taped next to the paper. Highly visible scratches ravaged the surface of the gold, and scuff marks obscured the engravings. It was the last trace of their love. Tom ripped the ring from the tape and threw it with all his might at the stone tiles furnishing the floor of the kitchen. _Crack_. A chip of the diamond flew off in another direction from the ring, getting caught in the side of a cabinet. Tom screamed viciously at the ceiling, sinking to his knees, and clenching his hands until his voice finally gave out. He placed a hand down on the icy tiles, letting the cold chill the blood pumping through his fingertips. Teardrops pattered onto the floor.

He gave a devilish glance over to the damaged ring. Only now he could see through the veil of its appearance: the fact that it wasn't a true diamond. It was bitter on the inside, just like he was. A fake. No doubt crossed through his mind that the gold must've been fake as well.

"Steven..." Tom whispered to himself.

It really was over.

* * *

Steven pulls the covers to rest halfway up his face. He didn't like to reminisce about his past marriage, but the emptiness did creep up on him sometimes to take him by surprise. His alarm clock beeps to signify the arrival of a new hour. Steven turns his attention to it, reading the time as **03:00am**.

He made so many mistakes. Tom made so many mistakes. The most bittersweet part of all of it was Tom's disappearance from the Derp Crew. Steven appreciated the distance, but on the other hand felt guilty that his choice to end it all had perhaps kickstarted Tom's decline into solidarity. Some days even looking at his channel page made him sick. Sure, breaking it off was the right thing to do, but it still had its repurcussions. Ugly repurcussions.

Steven bit down on the edge of his blanket. He's ran through these thoughts so many times already, but tonight felt like the first time all over again. Steven rolls away from the alarm clock, and chokes up more tears. He didn't need sleep anyway.


End file.
